Tabloid Journalism At Its Finest

In an interview with the editorial board of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader today, Hillary Clinton commented that people had been trying to push her out of the Democratic race since Iowa. When asked why, she replied that she didn’t know. She mentioned that Bill Clinton had not wrapped up his campaign in 1992 until the middle of June and that Robert Kennedy was still on the trail in June at the time of his assassination.

In good tabloid style, the media immediately seized on Clinton’s reference to Bobby Kennedy’s death to twist and distort a comment intended only to emphasize that the duration of the 2008 Democratic primary has not been unprecedented.

In response to the media’s attempted smears, Clinton’s campaign spokesperson Mo Elleithee said:

“She {Clinton} was simply referencing her husband in 1992 and Bobby Kennedy in 1968 as historic examples of the nominating process going well into the summer. Any reading into beyond that would be inaccurate.

Later on, speaking on her own behalf, Clinton elaborated:

"Earlier today I was discussing the democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Senator Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968. And I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June that's a historic fact. The Kennedy's have been much on my mind for the last days because of Senator Kennedy."

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation - particularly for that family - was in any way offensive," Clinton continued. "I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever. My view is that we have to look to the past and to our leaders who have inspired us and give us a lot to live up to and I'm honored to hold Senator Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate in the state of New York. And have the highest regard for the entire Kennedy family."

Her statement makes sense; the Clintons’ long-time friendship with the Kennedy family has remained strong despite Ted Kennedy’s recent endorsement of Barack Obama.

But the eagerness displayed by the media to seize on yet another opportunity to demonize Hillary Clinton is inexplicable. Perhaps someday we’ll know why the better-qualified candidate in this race was continuously vilified while the least qualified candidate was eagerly swept along to his coronation.

Watch Clinton’s interview with the Argus Leader here.